Army Widow Benefits

A suburban Cincinnati woman says the death of her soldier husband during an Army training accident in Texas should be worth more than about 12-thousand dollars in military benefits.

Shauna Moore may get some help from Congress. In January, the Bush administration proposed to increase the military death benefit of 12 thousand, 420 dollars to 100-thousand dollars, but only in cases where the service member died in a war zone designated by the secretary of defense. But some lawmakers and military officials say the increased death benefit should be offered also to families of soldiers who die while training for combat missions.

That could help spouses like 25-year-old Shauna Moore. Her husband, Army Sergeant Benjamin Moore, died two years ago when he was accidentally shot by another soldier during night training exercises at Fort Hood, Texas. At the time, Moore was training with his First Cavalry Division for a tour of duty in Iraq.